Yemen: Air strike kills 6 al-qaida men

ADEN (Reuters) – Yemeni warplanes killed at least six gunmen linked to al-qaida on Wednesday, the government said as it pressed ahead with an offensive against insurgents in the south. The country’s Defense Ministry said it launched an air strike on a group of Islamists near the southern city of Lawdar, killing six of them. Lawdar residents told Reuters one person was also killed and another two were injured when mortar rounds hit their houses. There was no independent confirmation of who launched the attacks.

More than 200 people have died since the government of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state stepped up attacks on the Islamists whom it accused of assaulting a military camp near Lawdar last week. Islamist insurgents have taken control of a number of cities in the territory, which is close to key shipping lanes in the Red Sea.